NCERT Class 9 textbook introduces personal income tax lessons

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has introduced personal income tax calculations in its new Class 9 Social Science textbook for the first time. The textbook 'Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Part 2', released on 29 September, includes a chapter titled 'Managing Your Personal Finances' that explains slab-wise tax liability under the new tax regime and describes paying taxes honestly and on time as an important civic responsibility that funds national development, according to Times Now, Hindustan Times, Orissa Post, Telangana Today, NDTV, Odishabytes, The Hindu and Deccan Herald.

The chapter includes a table of tax slabs under the new regime and steps to calculate tax liability, but does not mention the old tax regime, Orissa Post, Telangana Today, Odishabytes, The Hindu and Deccan Herald report. NCERT Chief Dinesh Prasad Saklani said students can now work through actual slab-wise tax calculation for this age group. The chapter also covers 'pillars of personal finance' including fixed deposits, bonds, stocks and mutual funds, and describes the 'power of early investments', Telangana Today, The Hindu and Deccan Herald add.

Update, 2 October 2026: NDTV, Odishabytes, The Hindu and Deccan Herald confirm the textbook was released on 29 September and teaches slab-wise tax calculation only under the new tax regime, with no mention of the old regime. The Hindu adds that NCERT has compressed the earlier 20 chapters across four books into 16 integrated chapters across two volumes. Deccan Herald and The Hindu also report that the chapter covers fixed deposits, bonds, stocks and mutual funds under 'power of early investments', matching Telangana Today's earlier report.